Geuzen
The Geuzen or the Geuzenverzet ( Geuzen Resistance ) was a Dutch resistance group during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945.
De Geuzen
The group was founded on May 14, 1940 in Arij Kop's house in Vlaardingen and was the first resistance group in the Netherlands during World War II . The founders used the name to refer to the Dutch freedom fighters Geusen during the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648). The initiator was the Schiedammer teacher Bernard IJzerdraat , who found a colleague in the Vlaardinger Jan Kijne . Shortly afterwards, IJzerdraat wrote the first Geuzenbrief , as the anti-German leaflets were called in which he called on the Dutch to resist. Kijne recruited more members from his circle of friends, including members of the Flardinga hiking club . During their wanderings, these facilities spied on the German occupiers and the information was passed on to the British. Other members of the group committed minor acts of sabotage. In the following months, other Dutch people from Vlaardingen, Schiedam and Maassluis joined the group. In November 1940 hundreds of alleged Geuzen were arrested by the German occupiers. It is unclear whether it was betrayal or reckless behavior that led the Germans to track down the group.
After a show trial, with which the Germans wanted to make an example, 18 Geuzen, including Kop, IJzerdraat and Kijne, were sentenced to death. Since three Geuzen, including Bill Minco , were minors, their sentences were commuted to life sentences and three leaders of the Amsterdam February strike were executed in their place . The 18 men were shot on March 13, 1941 on the Waalsdorpervlakte ; a Geuzen member had previously died as a result of torture. Before their execution, the men sang Psalm 43: 4 ("Dan ga ik op tot uw altaren tot U, o bron van zaligheid"). Minco, who was an eyewitness to the execution, later reported about it in his book Koude voeten, begenadigd tot levenslang .
After the execution, the poet Jan Campert wrote the poem De Achttien dooden . When it became known in 1943 that Campert had died in Neuengamme concentration camp , it was printed in the underground magazine Vrij Nederland and on an illegal flyer with a circulation of 15,000.
Memorial sites
Six of the 18 executed men are on the Begraafplaats Emaus in Vlaardingen, others found their final resting place on the Ereveld Loenen , a military cemetery in Loenen near Apeldoorn . A bronze sculpture by the sculptor Leen Droppert was unveiled in 1983 on the market square in Vlaardingen . From the sculpture, 18 black rectangles lead in the direction of the town hall, in whose cellar the Geuzen were imprisoned.
Geuzenverzet Foundation 1940–1945
Since 1987 the Stichting Geuzenverzet has been awarding the "Geuzenpenning" annually in Vlaardingen 1940-1945 in memory of the Geuzen to people who have campaigned in a special way for democracy and against dictatorship, discrimination and racism. Among those honored so far are former German President Richard von Weizsäcker , the Anne Frank Foundation , Human Rights Watch and former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari . In 2005, actor Richard Gere accepted the award on behalf of the International Campaign for Tibet .
literature
- Harry Paape, De Geuzen, de eerste verzetsgroep 40–45 . Amsterdam 1965
- Bill Minco , Koude voeten, begenadigd dead levenslang . Nijmegen 1997
Web links
- Official website. Stichting Geuzenverzet 1940–1945, accessed on September 28, 2014 (Dutch).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Deetman reikt Geuzenpenning uit. erepeloton.nl, accessed on September 28, 2014 (Dutch).
- ↑ Verzetsgroep De Geuzen. Geschiedenis van Vlaardingen, accessed September 28, 2014 (Dutch).
- ↑ Executies 1941. Retrieved September 29, 2014 (Dutch).
- ↑ Hans Renders: Wie weet slaag ik in de dood (biography of Jan Campert). Amsterdam 2004. pp. 405-408
- ↑ Het Lied der Achttien dooden. Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam, accessed September 30, 2014 (Dutch).
- ↑ Oorlogsgraven. Begraafplaats Emaus Vlaardingen, accessed September 30, 2014 (Dutch).
- ↑ Het Geuzen Monument. geuzenpenning.nl, accessed September 30, 2014 (Dutch).
- ↑ Uitreiking Geuzenpenning. bkb.nl, 2005, accessed September 30, 2014 (Dutch).